SITE SANTA FE

During our cross-country trip I happened to catch two phenomenal exhibitions at SITE Santa Fe. The first, pictured above, is Suzanne Bocanegra's All the Petals series. These works deconstruct 17th century paintings by Jan Brueghel the Elder. Bocanegra takes apart, petal by petal, all of the flowers in Brueghel's Sense of Smell and Flowers in a Blue Vase. (I found it useful to see the original painting). It is interesting to see the works set against a white background, and from a distance. I also appreciated a glimpse into her process seen here.  And Pae White's Material Matters, in which she takes everyday objects like a thrift store decoration or crumpled up tin foil and transforms them into gigantic tapestries, was also terrific. 

PART III: TO THE FAITHFUL, REWARD IS CERTAIN

{See Part I and Part II of this story}

And then last week I got this email from Catherine with the update:

Hi Mara,

All healed up, and home from a week down in New England - a memorial for my grandmother at the Bridgewater Town House in New Hampshire (a wild looking building) and the internment of her ashes on the land she saved for our family - on top of a mountain - land that's been passed down for at least five or six generations. That's where I'm standing in these photos. It felt appropriate.

We gathered at our family cabin there en masse for a time and celebrated her in a lot of little ways - the women sitting in a circle and dividing her piles of costume jewelery and scarves and dresses among us, and tracing the family lineage as far as we could.My family loved the piece and continue to get compliments on it wherever I go - and tell the story of the whole thing proudly. I get comments in the weirdest of situations - most oddly from a security guard at a casino while I threw down roulette chips.

Most importantly - I love it, and it feels almost as if it's always been a part of me.

I've set up an annual donation to the Canadian Opera Company in her memory. Her nephews opened the memorial service with a duet on trumpet and stand-up bass - a sweetly arranged aria she particularly loved.

Thank you again for contributing such a big part to the end of this story.

Fondly,
Catherine

Let me say that when I started Neither Snow I couldn't have dreamed up that I would one day receive a photo of a beautiful woman trying on the clothes of her beloved grandmother in the New England summer air, with a relative helping her button the blouse, and with my calligraphy forever etched on this delicate arm. There are inumerable moments in my work when words fail me, and this is one of those times.

 

With a full heart and a check in the mail to the Canadian Opera Company in honor of Mary Heron, I am unspeakably honored to have been a part of this collaboration and grateful to Catherine Heron, her remarkable family, Tyson Ward at Passage Tattoo in Toronto, and photographers Andrew Thuss and Mawgan Lewis.

 

As a reminder: i give away an expression of gratitude every month. Please contact me with a candidate + story if you would like to be considered.

 

PART I: TO THE FAITHFUL, REWARD IS CERTAIN

 

Back in June I received this email from Catherine Heron with the photos above (from top to bottom: Shapleigh coat of arms, Mary Heron, Mary and her son, Charles.)

Hi Mara,

My grandmother died a week ago tomorrow. She was 98 1/2 years old.

She was 1 of 12 living daughters of a Union Civil War vet. At an impatient 3 she headed downtown alone, then graciously allowed a neighbour to accompany her: the "Unsinkable Molly Brown" of the Titanic. She was in Saltzburg when the Nazis came. Her Detroit friends included Louis & Suzanne Chevrolet. She escaped a marriage of politics and convenience by fleeing alone to a Nevada "divorce ranch" in the thirties in the middle of the night. Because of her stories, I know I am connected to all of history and humanity. 

She was positively fierce, fierce in her opinions - petitioning to save greenspaces, fiercely liberal... fiercely proud of my career as an artist, fiercely independent - fiercely supportive, nay - instrumental in encouraging me to get out of relationships I was miserable about. She was University educated, keeping her mensa-member husband of 50+ years on his toes constantly - learning perpetually. Skype-ing herself in to my cousin's west coast lesbian wedding so she could share her genuine joy for both women.

A true practitioner of unconditional love, she always listened intensely, with vital interest. She taught us that grace, charm and compassion are what make a lady; to never stay in a passionless relationship; to have treats at the ready for your guests; to blaze a trail doing what is right; that love is the answer.

Through her, I was a descendant of the Shapleigh family - who arrived in Kittery, Maine in 1623 - three years after the Mayflower. The qualities and aspects of her that I've described, I have always been told, are "100% Shapleigh." In conversations with my aunt - her daughter - we've talked about the qualities of the women of this line, this "fierceness," quickness, compassion, energy, freedom. My name is Catherine Shapleigh Heron.

I had told my grandmother a year ago I had been playing with the idea of getting a scallop shell tattooed on  my wrist - the scallop being the symbol on the family Coat of Arms, the original, from Devon. She loved this idea, and on a $26 birthday check wrote "FOR A SHAPLEIGH TATTOO??!" in the memorandum line. But now that she has passed, I've thought it over and would simply like to get the Shapleigh motto (also from the coat of arms) done up the inside of my arm.

The motto is "Fideli Certa Merces," which translated, is "to the faithful, reward is certain."

I was touched by Catherine's email for many reasons: the beautiful prose, the specific memories of her grandmother, and Mary's $26 birthday check (my own grandmother sends me $25 every year). So Catherine became June's Gratitude Giveaway winner and we endeavored to create a tattoo worthy of Mary Heron. The terms: that we would each donate $26 to a charitable cause dear to Mary's heart.

And so...

 

&tc.

History of U.S. Postage from Kathryn Davenel on Vimeo.

Jamie recently sent along two philatelitc links of note. The first is fun animation by Kathryn Davenel  and the second is the "big reveal" going on at Beyond the Perf -- they are debuting a new 2012 stamp every day for the next week or so. How great that USPS tapped Louise Fili to design the new love ribbons stamp (you can learn about the history of love stamps here). Fili's work has always been such an inspiration. Above, a few of my favorite logos that she's designed. It's enlightening to read about before and after redesigns, like the one for Good Housekeeping. I just ordered her history of "Scripts" that came out in May. Can't wait to share! & thanks Jamie!

{images via Louise Fili}

ZOE KEATING

Tonight we saw avant cellist Zoe Keating. What a privilege. Throughout the concert it felt as though she was creating her own universe, layer by layer, and this universe was such an inspiring place to be for a short while. She ended with this song, Optimist, written when she was pregnant with her son. The way she describes it, she wanted to "plant the flag of optimism" for him, his life, the world. It's her music that conjures this optimism from thin air. It was fun to hunt about You Tube listen to how the song as evolved over the months she's played it, from early 2010 to now. You can download the song here (for free!). Also, "The Escape Artist."

ELFRETH'S ALLEY

I had so much fun this weekend playing a tourist in my own city with Lindsay. We headed to the annual Elfreth's Alley Fete day which celebrates the country's oldest residential street. It was a treat to tour inside the beautiful, historic homes. And Maureen from the Philadelphia Calligrapher's Society was on hand with quills and parchment samples from Pergamena. In no particular order: quills, parchment, fife + drum (don't you love the red heart on the uniform?), doorknocker, tops sold in the giftshop, the terrific mix of patterns on the apron, shirt and skirt of a woman spinning yarn, her red foot, yarn, a hankie, an old oven.